


Mis En Scéne

by Ravanne



Series: A New Direction (formerly Season Four Remix) [6]
Category: Glee
Genre: Gen, M/M, Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:07:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27245491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravanne/pseuds/Ravanne
Summary: The Garrison Shakespeare Festival - a chance to grow both as performers and people. A story in three acts.
Relationships: Adam Crawford/Kurt Hummel, Artie Abrams/Tina Cohen-Chang, Rachel Berry/Original Male Character(s)
Series: A New Direction (formerly Season Four Remix) [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/710586
Comments: 126
Kudos: 180





	1. Act One - Rachel

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all. I wasn't sure if I was going to finish this story or even have the ability to work on it. Two weeks ago, we learned that my mother has metastatic pancreatic cancer and, understandably, my mind was not on writing in any way. But she urged me to keep writing because she knew that I would need it and a counselor that I spoke with reminded me that I needed to take care of myself mentally and physically so that I could help my mom during her treatment.
> 
> Mom is doing well and starting treatment so we're optimistic that she'll be with us for a good amount of time going forward. So to all my readers... live your joys. Never apologize for taking pleasures in the small things in life, no matter how frivolous they might seem. You never know how much time the Gods might grant so seize every moment like the precious gifts that they are.
> 
> Update (Dec. 29) - Hello all. I just wanted to let my readers know that my Mom is going on hospice care here at home. She developed a severe infection that became septic and her liver was badly compromised (both from the infection and the cancer). She's unable to continue treatment and we're going to work to make her days with us as happy and peaceful as possible.
> 
> I wanted to thank everyone for all the kind wishes and comments the past few weeks. I'm not abandoning my writing by any means, as it's going to be crucial for my emotional recovery. The support that I've gotten here means so much to me.

If anyone had asked Rachel Berry what her hopes were for her theater career prior to her arrival in New York, she would have happily regaled them about the kind of roles that she would play that would launch her to immediate stardom. There were the roles that she dreamed of playing all her life; Evita. Elphaba, Maria, Eponine, and Fanny. It was only recently that she could admit that those were the dreams were the immature fantasies of a child, filled with adoring audiences, fawning directors and cast mates who counted themselves fortunate to be allowed on the same stage as her. Her dreams of fabulous reviews and awards, with the regard of her profession that would count her among the historical greats that she’d grown up admiring were shortsighted and showed how ignorant she was about the business she was trying to enter.

The reality had been far harder than she could have imagined, but she was unable to deny just how satisfying it was turning out to be. She’d been humbled, brought down by her own arrogance and nearly lost everything in the process. Thankfully she had people around her who were able to save her from herself and help set her back on a path that would bring her closer to her goals. Madam Tibideaux, with her sharp criticism and who demanded more that Rachel had thought herself capable of giving. Kurt, who supported her while still speaking the truth that she often didn’t want to hear. Her friends, who’d forgiven her selfishness and inability to see beyond her own wants while growing increasingly insistent that she grant as much support as she expected. She owed them so very much and was very aware that she would not be where she was at that moment, preparing to take the stage in her first professional role, were it not for them.

The past weeks had been challenging. Just as challenging as the months of work she’d done with her classmates to bring Les Misérables to the stage, and on a far shorter timeline. Mr. Tillman had been a harsh taskmaster, demanding in a way that she’d never experienced before. He never failed to remark when his actors were found wanting, but he also was ready with his praise when they began to grasp the roles as he expected them to. Rachel learned the hard process of building a character, making mad Cassandra as real as Rachel herself was so that her audience would not see Cassandra and a one-dimensional caricature.

The time for rehearsals was over. The moment that she had been waiting for since she was a toddler, where she was to face a demanding audience as a professional actress had finally arrived. She would have her moments front and center, with entire scenes centered about her. Maybe it wasn’t the role she had dreamed about as a child, but the reality was turning out to be so much more satisfying.

She looked into her dressing room mirror, mentally shutting out the sounds of the other actresses getting ready. Nothing else mattered at this point, not even the assortment of flowers sent by her fathers, her boyfriend and her friends to celebrate her professional debut. She was already finished with her hair and makeup, both designed to give the impression of a woman barely holding it together. Her long hair was curled and just mussed enough to look out of sorts, and her dark eye makeup had a slightly gothic feel in honor of her character’s role as a prophetess. Behind her, a gown of dark garnet hung, ready to complete her transformation.

“Rach… you need help getting into your dress?” Tina asked, already in costume.

She smiled gratefully. “If you can,” she requested. One of the costuming team would arrive shortly to help her, but she knew that they had their hands full in making sure that the whole cast were able to manage their outfits. Getting herself dressed would save them at least a little effort. “I keep getting lost in it.”

Tina smiled and helped take the costume off its hanger. As she carefully lifted the dress to slip over Rachel’s head, Rachel wondered if the costuming team were geniuses or sadists. Unquestionably, the costumes were gorgeous, but the ornate gown had so many layers of fine tulle and folds that it was easy to get tangled up in. It took a bit of work to get the gown to lay properly.

“This is one time when I’m glad not to be a lead,” Tina chuckled, grateful for her simpler outfit as an ensemble player. “Costume changes would be a total bitch in this.”

Rachel ran her fingers through the ends of her hair to make sure that they weren’t getting caught in her shoulder straps. “Fortunately, I don’t have to worry about that,” she said gratefully, again amazed at the work that the costumers had been able to accomplish. She didn’t have the biggest part in the show, but she was sure to make an impact with her gown standing out from the mostly white and grey costumes of the Trojan players.

Tina helped her with the final elements, pinning on the ornate jewelry that completed her transformation to a slightly demented princess. Once Rachel was fully dressed, Tina stepped back with a happy smile.

“This is it,” she proclaimed. “Our first real show in our first real job.”

“It feels so strange,” Rachel remarked, trying to wrap her mind around the concept. She’d thought that she was ready for the professional stage the instant she’d set foot in New York, only to be crushed by disappointment and forced to recognize how much she needed to learn before she was ready. She had learned to temper her impatience and start enjoying the process of growing as a performer. Perhaps she’d always hoped that her first serious role would be on Broadway proper. Or even off-Broadway, but she couldn’t find it in herself to be at all disappointed to be in a regional production. She felt like she had truly earned this opportunity and had worked so hard to prove herself.

The other women sharing the communal dressing room were finishing their preparations and Rachel had found herself enjoying the comradery of having actors at every level of the production sharing the same space. There were no leads putting on airs, sequestered away in private dressing rooms and kept apart from the ensemble players. Older, more seasoned actors took the younger ones under their wing and helped to smooth the steep learning curves that the new members of the company faced.

Rachel had found herself getting along well with Tracy, Kurt’s friend from last season who’d been cast as Helen of Troy. She found herself confident enough with her own place in the production that she could respect the other girl’s talent as an actress and admired how radiant she looked in her pale blue gown with her auburn hair done up in elegant ringlets that spilled over her shoulders. It wasn’t a huge role in the grand scheme of things, but her presence was pivotal for the progression of the plot.

Tracey looked over to Rachel and offered a warm smile. “You look amazing,” she complimented, her hands smoothing down the folds of more simply designed gown. “I’m absolutely envious over that dress.”

Rachel smiled sincerely. “Don’t be,” she advised. “It’s a total pain to get into. But you look gorgeous. A perfect Helen.”

Trace shrugged her bare shoulders. “I get to stand around and look decorative,” she pointed out with a touch of self-deprecation. “I would have loved to get Cressida, but I guess I need another year before they’ll give me a lead. Your role is going to be a lot more fun.”

“We’re just glad to get more than ensemble,” Tina commented. “I’m still kind of shocked to get something my first year here.”

“Mr. Tillman is really good about giving new actors a chance to prove themselves,” Tracy confided with a happy smile. “He’s got a great instinct for matching actors with the right roles and I was so thrilled to get a real role last summer.”

Rachel couldn’t deny the wash of satisfaction over that observation. Cassandra wasn’t the role she’d initially gone out for, but there was something truly gratifying about finding a character that gave her so much to work with and made her explore more of what she was capable of as an actor.

She’d been amazed at how much the previous summer had allowed Kurt to develop as a performer, and how his confidence had grown. He was so much more willing to shoot for the stars, even if he failed, and to escape the safe box where he might have done well but never truly excelled. If she came out of this season with anything close to that, the experience would serve her well.

“Did Artie call you?” Rachel asked. Neil had called and texted her several times during the day, promising that he would be coming upstate with several of their friends to see the show on his day off and she wanted to make sure that Tina’s boyfriend wasn’t going to neglect her.

Tina nodded. “I know that he’s busy at the studio,” she granted, understanding that Artie’s internship at the Astoria film studio was as important to his career growth as this production was for theirs. “But he promised that he’d come up with Santana and Elliot when they come.”

They checked themselves one last time, making sure that their costumes and makeup were in order before leaving the dressing room. “Let’s go find Kurt and the others,” Rachel suggested, eager to get the show on the road. “We should have a few minutes before they call us to the stage.”

Kurt was already in costume, standing with a group of other actors as they ran through the choreography of one of the fight scenes and looked very handsome. The costumer designers had gone with a theme that combined traditional ancient Greece with more modern elements and a slightly punk aesthetic. When they’d first explained the concept of drawing a direct link between the themes of a story taking place in ancient times to the modern age, Rachel hadn’t been sure how it would actually work. She should have had more confidence because it was pretty striking.

Kurt wore a grey tunic that showed off his muscular arms and toned chest, but the traditional garb was paired with leather pants and a pair of his own Doc Martins that gave him a sexy, roguish air that suited his character well. His hair had been styled into a high faux-hawk and there was an artful smear of black kohl about his eyes that turned his youthful good looks into something exotic. Elliot, she thought, would approve.

Adam was hurrying about the stage area, carrying his clipboard and acting as their director’s eyes and ears. He seemed to be enjoying his job, making sure that all the actors and crew were where they needed to be and dealing with any offstage mishaps. He spotted the girls and walked over, a harried but brilliant smile on his handsome face.

“Ladies, break a leg tonight,” he urged, offering the trio a careful kiss to the cheek so he would mar their carefully applied makeup.

“Thanks, Adam,” Rachel said gratefully, glad that Kurt’s boyfriend was still joining them even if he wasn’t going to be sharing the stage. She couldn’t imagine watching the performance for the sidelines when she knew how talented a performer he was, but Rachel understood that Adam’s ambitions to be a director were nearly as great as it was for acting. The experience he was gaining as Mr. Tillman’s intern was invaluable.

He moved to interrupt Kurt’s combat run-through, offering his lover nothing more than a smile and an urging to have a good show. Rachel had to admire how he and Kurt were conducting themselves, keeping their conduct at the theater strictly professional even though everyone knew of their relationship. No one would have held an occasional kiss against them, but Kurt knew that he needed to avoid being too openly affectionate with a member of the production team.

There wasn’t a whole lot of time to muse before Mr. Tillman called the cast together for their pre-show pep talk and Rachel felt the thrill of anticipation that always preceded a performance. The joy of seeing weeks of hard work by so many people finally coming together to be shown to the waiting audience. She knew that her fathers seated in the audience for her opening night, ready to cheer her on as she took another step on the path of her professional career. Neil and their friends planned to see the production later on, wanting to support them while not missing too much of their own work and summer projects.

After a final cast circle with hugs and urges to have a good show it was time to take their places on the stage. Even after the past few days of dress rehearsals and previews didn’t temper the excitement of their official opening night, and Rachel was all but quivering in her sandals as she waited for the curtain to rise.

The performance went as well as she could have hoped for. The entire cast worked like a well-oiled machine. No one missed their cues or stumbled over a line. The scenes of intimacy between characters weighed as heavily as the dramatic combat scenes and she felt every eye in the audience on her as her character spoke prophesies of doom that foretold the deaths of so many.

She and Tina watched the battle scenes from the wings, casting admiring eyes on Kurt as he strutted about the stage like a proud young peacock challenging all who might dare to stand against him. After having watched him grow as an actor in _Les Miserables_ , it wasn’t any surprise that he was continuing to develop by leaps and bounds.

Kurt had amazing chemistry with the actor playing Achilles, and Rachel was amused with how the two of them drew focus whenever they were on stage. It wasn’t as if they were hanging all over one another, but the soft touches, lingering stares and the manner in which they stood so closely left no question as to Achilles’s relationship with the younger man. It reminded Rachel a good deal about how Kurt acted with Adam when they were in a casual situation; openly affectionate and showing comfort in one another’s presence without feeling that they needed to put their relationship on display for others. Kurt’s ease with himself and his appeal to other men was probably why he and the other actor came across so well together.

Over the course of the show, Rachel’s character’s grip on sanity began to slip as she was overwhelmed by the prophesies she was seeing. Her warnings of doom went unheeded and she found herself unable to prevent the destruction of her family. As the action progressed, it became clear to the audience that her sanity was beginning to fray as she began to become more fidgety in the background. She began to play with her hair, pulling on her curls until her curls became disheveled and undone. Her hands grasped at the pleats of her gown, the fabric seeming to shred under her hands. By the final scenes, Rachel actually did appear as mad as her character was supposed to be.

The costumers were there to help her in between her scenes, removing the intact layers of tulle from her gown to reveal the ragged layers underneath. It was a clever way to show her character’s mental deterioration as Cassandra’s visions began to overwhelm her. Rachel was grateful for their help and glad that they were as organized as they were, each layer marked and placed carefully aside because they’d have to put the gown back together again before the next show.

Towards the end of the play, as Hector prepared to leave to face the Greek army despite the pleadings of his wife, sister and father, Cassanda was making a final effort to dissuade him as Hector put on his armor. She grasped desperately at his arm, only to have him firmly shake her off.

“ _This fooling, dreaming, superstitious girl,_ ” Hector spat almost contempt as he fasted his breastplate. “ _Makes all these bodements._ ”

Rachel looked to him plaintively, her hair hanging disheveled about her face and her gown hanging in tatters. Cassandra had failed to convince her brother and now he would go off to the battle where everything would spiral out of control. She was seeing him for the final time.

“ _O, farewell, dear Hector,_ ” she said, her voice trembling with grief. “ _Look, how you diest! Look, how thy eye turns pale! Look, you thy wounds to bleed at many vents._ ”

Rachel knew how the rest of the story would go. Hector would go off and meet Patroclus and would kill him in battle. That would rouse Achilles, who would step forward to avenge his beloved and slay Hector in return. This would be a tragedy in the truest sense of the word.

She allowed her eyes to take on a distant stare, no longer seeing the actor playing her brother but the carnage that awaited them all. “ _Hark, how Troy roars! How Hecuba cries out_ ,” she said grievously. “ _How poor Andromache shrills her dolours forth! Behold, distraction, frenzy and amazement. Like witless antics, one another meet._ ”

Tears began to stream down her face, further smearing her makeup and she grasped at the other actor one last time. “ _And all cry, Hector!_ ” she wept piteously. “ _Hector’s dead! O Hector…_ ”

He shrugged her off again, shoving Rachel away from him nearly violently. “ _Away! Away!_ ” he commanded, turning his back on her as he belted on his sword.

Rachel watched him through haunted eyes, her tears flowing freely. “ _Farewell: yet, soft! Hector! Take my leave_ ,” she sobbed softly. “ _Thou dost thyself and all our Troy deceive_.”

She walked off the stage, her bare feet dragging in defeat and her shoulders slumped with the knowledge that Cassandra would never see her brother living again. She was met in the wings by Tina and Tracy with open arms and warm, supportive embraces.

“You were amazing,” Tina complimented, keeping her voice low so that it wouldn’t carry to the stage.

Tracy nodded in agreement. “I’m really regretting not going for Cassandra,” she admitted with a rueful smile. “You were a total scene stealer.”

After working with both girls for the past weeks, Rachel knew full well just how sincere they were and how much their regard meant. “Thank you. That means a lot to me,” she said sincerely.

Tina nudged her so that they faced the stage. “Shh…” she urged. “The boys are starting their fight.”

Despite having seen the combat scenes in rehearsals, seeing them on stage with all the weapons and the actors decked out in their combat gear made the tension even more visceral. Kurt was fully in his character’s headspace, strutting like a stud colt and challenging Hector with a drawn blade and confident sneer. The battle was fast and furious, and Rachel couldn’t believe just how good Kurt had gotten in the past year. His aptitude for dance certainly came in handy, allowing him to master complex movements that would have had her dizzy after the first steps.

She knew that it was all choreographed, but it was still a bit frightening to watch as Kurt ducked blows that came perilously close to his head. When Hector’s blade found its mark, it was hard not to gasp in shock. Kurt shuddered and fell back into the arms of his comrades, who were driven back by the Greek warriors, carrying Kurt’s still form with them.

In the foreground, there was no celebration over Hector’s victory, as it was obvious what a disaster it would mean. As the actor playing Ulysses warned that Patroclus’s death would rouse Achilles’s vengeance, Rachel watched the scene playing out in the background as Achilles’s wept over his lover’s dead body, his face contorted with grief and rage.

The play concluded with no happy endings for anyone. Troilus and Cressida were lost to one another, their hearts broken by events that were beyond their control. The Greeks lost their greatest prince and Achilles lost his beloved. Unlike many of Shakespeare’s other tragedies, there was no silver lining to soothe the pain of what the characters endured. Lovers were parted forever and all of the characters that survived would forever live with the pain of those that were lost. Rachel could understand why this was one of the less often staged plays because no one would leave the theater happy, however riveting they found the production.

They lined up for their curtain call, the entire cast gathered in a long line to take their bows. Rachel couldn’t help from smiling when she saw that nearly the entire audience was on their feet, applauding and cheering loudly. This was their reward for all their hard work and Rachel knew that it was well earned.

The members of the cast took their turns at center stage to bow and bask in the regard of the audience. The members of the ensemble went first, then the minor character players. Each had their chance to stand at the forefront of the stage and get their moment in the spotlight.

When it was the turn for the main players, Rachel knew that her moment had arrived. There wasn’t any particular order set for them, and her turn came directly after Tracy and her boyfriend who’d played Paris took their bows. With a wide smile, Rachel stepped forward and gave a curtsy to the audience, bowing her head respectfully before rising up to bask in their applause.

“Baby! Over here, Rachel!”

Rachel couldn’t help from laughing at how her fathers called out, shouting to be heard above the rest of the audience. She couldn’t quite see them through the glare of the stage lights, peering towards where she knew their seats were and thought that she could see the two of them waving at her, cheering and not caring that they might be making fools of themselves. Not when it came to celebrating their daughter’s opening night.

Once the last of the actors had the opportunity to accept the audience’s acclaim and the full company took a final group bow, the heavy velvet curtain came down and it was time for the celebration. For hugs and congratulations before the task of stripping off costumes and returning to their mundane personas. Sitting down at her makeup table and wiping away the coatings of stage paint from her face while a member of the costuming team took charge of her gown, carefully checking for damage or stains before meticulously piecing the intricate layers back together for the next evenings performance.

“Thanks so much,” Rachel said sincerely when her costume was back in pristine order.

The older woman looked a bit tired and harried but smiled brightly. “Not a problem,” she assured Rachel. “And you were great tonight. We love seeing our work used well.”

There was a time when the regard of the technical staff would have meant nothing to her, Rachel reminded herself with a touch of shame. She was grateful that the experience she’d gained in the school production and having her eyes opened to just how self-centered she had been for so long.

Once Rachel was cleaned up enough that she wouldn’t be embarrassed in public, it was time to greet the audience who awaited by the stage door. She had done stage doors before, but never with the anticipation of fans waiting to greet her specifically. She was nearly as excited as she’d been for the performance itself, having the chance to see the reaction of the audience up close.

Kurt was waiting for them by the stage door, offering his friends a brilliant smile. “Ready, ladies?” he asked brightly. “This is the fun part.”

Tina leaned in to give him a quick peck on the cheek. “This is for you two,” she acknowledged sagely. “I’ll have my chance with the next show.”

Kurt took her hand to keep her from rushing out. “They’re here for you too,” he advised with gentle insistence.

Rachel nodded in agreement. “You were just as much a part of this show as anyone else,” she claimed firmly. “You deserve your moment here too.”

Kurt grinned warmly, pulling a pair of marker pens from his pocket. “Here,” he offered, handing them to the girls. “You’re going to need these.”

Having fans cheering as she exited the theater gave Rachel a rush of satisfaction as she absorbed their regards. As eager as she was to see her fathers, she took her time to thank those who’d waited to greet the actors, signing programs and accepting congratulations for her performance.

“That was wonderful,” an older woman expressed enthusiastically, grasping Rachel’s hand. A man with an impressive gray moustache that Rachel assumed was her husband nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

“It really was,” he assured her with a twinkle in his eye. “Very compelling, young lady.”

“Thank you!” Rachel answered, her throat tightening as it dawned on her that they really did approve of what she’d done. “I’m so happy that you enjoyed it.”

The woman nodded enthusiastically. “This is your first year, isn’t it?” she asked. “We come every season and I always love seeing the new actors joining the cast.”

“It is my first season,” Rachel confirmed. “It’s been such an amazing experience.”

“Well, it was wonderful seeing you,” the lady insisted. “I hope to see a lot more of you in the future.”

Rachel nodded emphatically. “I definitely plan on it,” she assured the couple, feeling the gratification of having pleased a knowledgeable and appreciative audience. Kurt had warned her that many in the audience were regulars who kept track of their favorite performers from year to year. She might very well be starting her fanbase that would follow her career that night.

Thanking the couple again, she made her way down the line to sign more autographs before finally reaching where her fathers had camped out.

“Baby!” Hiram called out, waving to get her attention. Leroy stood behind him with his hands on his husband’s shoulders, a calmer supporting presence.

“So what did you think?” Rachel asked, accepting a bouquet of roses from her fathers.

“You were fantastic,” Leroy praised, his dark eyes shining with joy.

Hiram nodded in agreement. “I wasn’t sure what it would be like to watch you perform without singing, but you were fantastic! It was absolutely Oscar worthy!”

“Our own little Meryl Streep,” Leroy cooed, sweeping his daughter up in a hug and ruffling her hair. “I’m so proud of you!”

Rachel couldn’t help preening a bit at her fathers’ praise, however overblown it was. She’d never get any kind of real criticism from them, but they seemed genuinely thrilled with her performance.

“I know it’s very different from what I normally do,” Rachel admitted. “But I’m glad that I had a chance for something like this.”

Leroy smiled warmly, gathering his family under his arms. “Well, I can’t wait to see it again tomorrow,” he stated confidently. “If you were this good on the first night, you’re only going to get better.”

“And we’re going to be there to see every performance,” Hiram assured her, causing his daughter to laugh.

Rachel laughed and shook her head at her fathers. “I can’t believe that you’re going to stay for the entire season,” she teased. She hadn’t quite believed her fathers when they told her that they’d booked a hotel room for the entire run of her shows. As much as she appreciated their support, that seemed a little excessive even for them.

Hiram chuckled and nudged her under her chin. “As if we’d miss a single one of your shows when you’re playing such an important role.”

Leroy cocked his head. “You’d better get used to it,” he warned playfully. “We’re even thinking about moving to New York so that we’ll be able to see every single one of your shows when you get your big lead role.”

“The realtor sent us listings for some lovely apartments,” Hiram informed her. “You’ll be able to move in with us. It’ll be just like old times!”

Rachel froze slightly, looking at her parents with wide eyes. They couldn’t be serious, she thought. While she loved her fathers, she’d gotten to enjoy her life on her own and moving in with them was not in her plans.

Leroy laughed at her obvious hesitation and leaned in to kiss the top of her head. “We’re kidding,” he assured her. “We’re not moving. But you should expect some extended visits when you get cast in something.”

Rachel couldn’t help her sigh of relief. “That I can handle,” she assured them with a smile.

Kurt was finished with his autographs and came up to Rachel with his arm around Tina’s shoulders. “We’re going to head over to the bar for the party,” he advised his friend. “Adam’s going to be a bit longer and he’ll meet us there.”

As focused as the Berrys were on their daughter, the two men had enough grace to compliment Rachel’s friends on their performances.

“Kurt, that was a heck of a performance,” Leroy complimented sincerely. “You’ve definitely grown a lot as an actor.”

Kurt smiled at Rachel’s father, nodding his thanks.

“Are your families here?” Hiram asked, clearly attempting to be polite.

Tina shook her head. “They’re coming for the final night of this show so they can see the opening night of the next one,” she explained.

“That’s what my family did last summer,” Kurt added. “Dad can only take so much time off from his jobs and my brother and friends want to see both shows.”

Tina nodded in agreement. “Since I’m in the ensemble in this show, it didn’t make sense for them to take two trips for both opening nights.”

Leroy smiled in understanding. “We’re fortunate that we can stay for the entire run,” he stated happily. “There’s no way we’d miss any of Rachel’s shows.”

“Though she should have a more substantial part in both,” Hiram groused, finally giving into his annoyance.

Rachel sighed, giving her father a nudge to remind him to be polite. “Dad, it’s my first year with the theater,” she reminded firmly. “I’m still proving myself. If I do well, next year they’ll consider giving me speaking roles in both shows.”

That clearly didn’t mollify her father, but he had the good sense to let it go in front of her friends so that he didn’t embarrass her. Leroy cleared his throat, recognizing that his husband wasn’t being as polite as he should be and tried to soften any hurt feelings.

“Well, can we take you all out for a late dinner? Or even coffee and dessert?” he offered. “We should be celebrating tonight.”

“Thanks, but the cast and crew always spend opening night at a local bar,” Kurt explained. “We don’t do a big after party, but this gives the cast and crew a chance to get together.”

Rachel leaned up to give both of her fathers a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you both in the morning,” she advised, not wanting to give them a chance to badger her into complying. “We can go out for breakfast if you want.”

Hiram looked at her in shock. “But we wanted to take you out to celebrate,” he stammered, obviously surprised that his daughter would rather hang out at a bar than spend time with her parents.

Rachel smiled and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “I know, but I want to spend time with my friends and castmates,” she insisted. After so many weeks of hard work, there was no way that she was going to miss celebrating with the people she’d worked with.

“You can all come with us,” Tina offered, but Leroy Berry shook his head.

“That’s very nice of you, but you kids go enjoy yourselves,” he urged. “We’ll have plenty of time to celebrate with Rachel.”

Hiram clearly wasn’t pleased with this but couldn’t argue without embarrassing his husband and daughter. He pulled Rachel over and pressed a kiss to her head. “You have fun tonight. We’ll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early.”

“Thanks, Daddy,” she said with a brilliant smile. She kissed them both on the cheek, thanking them for coming before turning to her friends.

They all looked tired but extremely happy. There was nothing better than a successful performance to put that special shine in their eyes and give them a sense of purpose. Kurt offered his arm to Rachel, who allowed her best friend to pull her into his warm embrace. Behind his back, she and Tina linked hands, completing the circle of support.

“Let’s go,” Rachel urged, giving Kurt a little nudge with her shoulder. “There’s a party waiting for us.”


	2. Act Two - Adam

Adam exhaled a breath of relief as the last of the post-show breakdown had finally been completed. They’d started literally the instant the curtain came down and the audience had vacated the theater. It was well past midnight and the cast had long left, leaving it to the technical teams to work but it had all gone as smoothly as Adam could have hoped. Standing alone on a bare stage gave Adam the truest sense of just how much they’d managed to accomplish in just a few hours.

The costumes for _Troilus and Cresseda_ were packed away and once the season was completed, every garment would be cleaned, categorized and stored in the warehouse to be recycled for future productions. The sets were broken down and loaded onto the truck, leaving the stage ready to be dressed for the next production starting first thing in the morning. While the cast would get to enjoy a long weekend to rest, he didn’t begrudge them the downtime. They would need the opportunity to mentally and physically transition from one role to the next. Having them away from the theater and physically out of the way allowed the technical teams to get their work done without interference. They should have plenty of time set up everything in time for the final run through before opening night.

When Mr. Tillman had offered him a job as his assistant during the summer season, Adam had thought that it was something of a pity job. Adam couldn’t help from feeling that he was being tossed a bone based on his past work with the company so that he wouldn’t be left at loose ends while Kurt was busy. He had been honestly surprised that he was actually put to work and handed a significant amount of authority. Mr. Tillman took having an assistant very seriously, assigning Adam to do all the running around so that he could focus on directing the cast and the big picture aspects of the production.

As an actor and student director, Adam’s grasp of just how much work there was for the technical teams was admittedly limited. Now that he was in the thick of things, it was a pretty brutal lesson that he was only beginning to understand.

Being Mr. Tillman’s assistant meant liaising with the leaders of all the teams, troubleshooting before problems reached the director and making sure that everyone was where they needed to be and that they had everything they needed to do their jobs. It could be mundane duties, like making sure that the catering orders arrived on time to tracking down a specific lighting film needed for a staging effect. While he’d helped stage numerous amateur productions, he’d never worked the production side of a professional show. It had been quite the eye opener.

On the downside, while he very much appreciated the option for summer employment, he didn’t have nearly as much time to spend with Kurt as he would have hoped. Both were busy with their respective jobs and it wasn’t appropriate for them to be fraternizing while on the clock. Behavior that no one would have blinked at while they were both in the cast could potentially cause trouble between a member of the production team and an actor.

Still, despite wishing that he was on stage with his friends, Adam was very much enjoying the experience. Even when everything seemed to be going wrong all at once and he found himself running around as if he were in a Benny Hill sketch, heading off one potential disaster after another, it was a challenge that he had come to relish.

When he finally arrived at the motel, Kurt was still up waiting for him. “You didn’t have to, love,” Adam admonished gently, regretting that Kurt wouldn’t allow himself to rest while he was working.

Kurt just smiled and leaned up to kiss him, letting Adam taste a trace of the wine the younger man had drunk earlier that night from celebrating with the rest of the cast. “I knew that you’d be getting back late and you have to leave for the theater early,” he pointed out logically. “I did want to see you before you fell into bed.”

Adam smiled, his heart warmed by his lover’s thoughtfulness and gave him another kiss. “Let me just grab a quick shower,” he requested. “I’m absolutely swimming in dust.”

“I’ll be waiting,” Kurt assured him with a coy smile that never failed to kindle that delicious burn in Adam’s lower half. With a cheeky grin, Adam hurried into the bathroom and sped through his evening routine. After a quick shower, he brushed his teeth and slipped into a comfortable pair of sleep pants before hurrying back to the bed where Kurt was waiting.

Neither of them had the energy for anything more than settling into one another’s embrace. It still felt so oddly fresh to Adam, feeling Kurt’s strong arms holding him and letting him feel sheltered and grounded. He’d missed that feeling of security all the time he was away, and it wasn’t a surprise that he fell asleep nearly immediately after climbing into bed.

Adam’s phone woke him at six o’clock and he quickly turned off the alarm before it could wake Kurt too. There was no reason why his lover needed to be woken up just because he needed to be at the theater so early. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, leaned over to give Kurt a quick kiss on his head and carefully disentangled himself so he could get out of bed Quickly washing and dressing, he had just enough time to grab a cup of coffee and a quick bite from the motel breakfast buffet before hurrying to the theater.

He wasn’t surprised to find Mr. Tillman already in his office when he arrived even though Adam had beaten all the techs to the theater. “Good morning, sir,” he greeted, wondering if the director slept at all during the theatrical run of their shows.

“Morning, Adam. I just put up a fresh pot of coffee. I figured that we’re both going to need it today,” the director offered with a smile.

“I’m okay for now,” Adam assured him. “Figured that I had a bit of time to go over the checklist to make sure that we’ve got everything lined up.”

Mr. Tillman nodded in approval. “Sounds good,” he confirmed. “Let’s make sure that the sets are all up by afternoon so the electrical and light teams can start getting everything wired. I want to be able to do a full tech check by tomorrow after lunch.

“And make sure that the costuming team checks all of the fairy costumes again,” he directed his assistant. “They’re awfully revealing and I’m having visions of a major wardrobe malfunction on stage.”

Adam couldn’t help from grinning cheekily. “That would get a lot of attention for the festival,” he chuckled, earning a laugh from the director.

“Not the kind we’re looking for,” Mr. Tillman insisted. “I know that I can count on you.”

Adam couldn’t help from smiling at the show of confidence. He had seen from years of working with the older man that Mr. Tillman was a hands-on director and delegating didn’t come easy to him. Giving Adam so much responsibility was a great show of confidence based on the years of knowing one another and Adam was determined not to disappoint him.

“I’m going to open up the back and wait for the trucks,” Adam informed him. “They should be arriving any time now.”

“All right… you’ll let me know if you run into any problems,” the director instructed before shifting his focus to the paperwork in front of him. “I’ll check up on things a little later.”

The morning was filled with activity leaving Adam so busy that he barely had a chance to sit down. The trucks carrying the set pieces arrived just as the crews began to show up and they were able to dive right in. By midmorning, everything was unloaded and the theater was filled with the sounds of hammers and power tools. It didn’t take long before the beginnings of a forest scene began to take shape on the stage. Adam watched as the wooden trees, all of them twisted to resemble oversized bonsai and painted with a subtle shimmer that gave them an unearthly radiance, filled the stage. Once the trees were positioned properly, the electrical techs moved in to wire the lights that would set the entire set glowing during the scenes with the fairy characters.

As expected, there were mishaps but nothing that couldn’t be resolved relatively easily. Several smaller pieces from the set never made it onto the truck and Adam had to send a team back to the warehouse to pick them up with instructions to double-check that they had everything before returning. The electrical team warned that it would take them a bit longer to get all of their work done than expected because the stage set was so elaborate, but they assured him that they would be ready for the run through in the evening.

Adam was making his rounds when he heard a shriek coming from the costuming workshop. He rushed into the room, seeing one of the costumers crying in pain while another of the workers was wrapping a rag around her hand while pulling her away from the dress form she’d been working on.

“What happened?” he asked in concern. Clearly the young woman was hurt and he needed to see how bad it was. “Let me see.”

The young woman whimpered when he took her hand and gently pulled the cloth away. Blood welled up from a deep cut on her hand. He quickly replaced the cloth and pressed down gently, applying pressure to stem the bleeding.

“It’s not that bad,” he promised with a reassuring smile. “But I think you’re going to need a few stiches of your own.”

The bad joke got the girl to laugh a bit before she winced again. “I’m such a klutz,” she moaned ruefully. “I was snipping off some loose threads and caught my finger.”

Adam patted her arm gently. “No harm done, except to your poor finger. I think we’d better get someone to check that out for you.”

He looked to the others on the costuming team. “Can one of you take her over to the emergency room? I can’t leave the theater now.”

A young man put down the jacket he’d been working on. “I’ll run her over,” he agreed. “It shouldn’t take too long.”

The head of the costuming team nodded her thanks. “Stay with Sally until they take care of her,” she ordered. “We can manage until you get back.”

“Will do, Dee,” he promised, placing his arm around the wounded girl’s shoulders. “Come on, Sally. Let’s see if those docs can sew as well as you can.”

Once Adam and the costuming manager saw the pair to the car and watched them drive off, he allowed himself one exasperated sigh.

“Am I a very bad person for just being glad that she didn’t bleed all over the costumes?” he asked the head costumer with a tired grin.

Dee laughed and shook her head. “Not at all,” she assured him. “Because I would have killed her if she did. Do you know how hard it would be to get blood off those sheer fabrics?”

She nudged him playfully. “Let me get back in there. I’m trying to keep Titania’s gown from falling apart,” she complained with a twinkle in her eye. “Not that there’s much of a gown to begin with.”

“Let me know when they get back from the hospital,” Adam requested. “I just want to make sure that Sally is okay.”

Dee nodded and smile. “I will,” she promised. Looking over Adam’s shoulder, she realized that her team wasn’t the only one needing his attention. “I think that someone else needs you right now.”

Adam turned, seeing one of the effects technicians waiting for him with a worried look.

“What’s wrong?” Adam asked, hoping that it wasn’t something too serious.

The young man bit his lower lip nervously, as if worried about Adam’s reaction. “We’ve got a problem with the smoke machine,” he explained.

Adam felt a sinking feeling deep in his stomach. “How bad a problem?” he questioned with an air of trepidation. He just wasn’t having any luck that day.

“It’s dead,” the tech confirmed regretfully. “We were running a test and it started to spark up. I unplugged it and checked it over before we started it up again and it started smoking but not in the way we want it to. Then it just shorted out again and we couldn’t restart it.”

Adam sighed, rubbing at his eyes with his fingertips. The machine was crucial to how several of the scenes were staged. “Is there any chance it be fixed?” he asked, hoping for the best even though he probably already knew the answer. He’d seen the team resurrect equipment that should have long since been discarded and they wouldn’t have come to him if they could have resolved the matter themselves.

“The damn this is older than you and I put together,” the tech complained, exaggerating a bit but Adam got the point. “It’s totally shot. I don’t even think that they still make the parts it would need even if I thought I could fix it.”

Adam looked up at the sky, wondering if someone was having a bit of humor at his expense. “We open in two days!” he reminded the other man. “Wasn’t this checked before now?”

“We did check it,” the tech insisted with a helpless shrug. “It’s just old.”

Adam knew that he couldn’t hold it against the other man. Equipment aged and at some point it was bound of have reached the point where it couldn’t be salvaged. He supposed that they should just be grateful that it happened before the show opened when they stood a chance of replacing it.

“Let’s tell Mr. Tillman,” Adam proposed in resignation. There was no helping the matter and while he’d been given a lot of authority, a professional quality smoke machine would be a few hundred dollars and he would need the director’s approval for the purchase. That was if they could get one shipped in time. If they couldn’t, they would have a serious problem.

Much to Adam’s relief, Mr. Tillman didn’t seem particularly surprised about the purchasing request. “To be honest, we should have replaced it a long time ago,” he granted with a shrug. “That’s my fault. I should have seen that it was on its last legs.”

He gave a huff of resignation. “Well, there’s no helping it now. Get in touch with our vendor and see if they can rush one to us,” he ordered. “If they can’t, we’re going to have to rework the effects for most of the show.”

Adam nodded and sat down, getting out his laptop. He’d kept a listing of the various suppliers that worked with the theater and pulled up the website for the company that had supplied their effects equipment in the past. He looked through the listing of smoke machines, trying not to blanch at the prices before finding one that was strong enough to fill the stage and should suit their needs. He showed it to the tech and got a nod of approval.

“That would be great if we can get it,” the technician agreed. “It’s the newest technology and will give us a wide range of effects that we can play with. At least we won’t have to worry about it fritzing out on us in the middle of a performance.”

The thought of a serious equipment failure in the middle of a show sent a chill down Adam’s spine. He’d had it happen while on stage and he doubted that his friends in the cast would appreciate it if the expected fog was suddenly absent during a critical scene. It took a few minutes of speaking on the phone with the vendor, but for a small fee to expedite the shipment they could expect it sometime the following morning. That would give the crew just enough of time to set it up and test it before the full tech run through.

Having navigated more than a few disasters that day, Adam looked to his employer with a tired smile. “Is it always like this?” he asked, not bothering to hide the plaintive whine in his voice that was only partly feigned. It had been an exhausting day and while he was pleased with the amount of work that had been accomplished, he was well aware of how much work remained before the show opened.

Mr. Tillman just offered a smile and went to the cabinet where he kept a bottle of aged whiskey. Setting out two glasses, he poured out a generous portion for both of them and raised his glass to his assistant.

“Not always,” he assured the younger man. “Sometimes it does actually go right. But you have to learn to roll when the unexpected happens and be prepared to deal with any problems that come up.”

The director leaned back in his chair, allowing himself to relax for a moment. “When you’re directing, there are so many variables to keep track of and it’s not out of the ordinary to have things go sideways no matter how carefully you plan them. Actors you cast might not work out the way you hoped, or your budget gets blown out of the water or someone gets hurt. You sometimes feel like all your doing is heading off one setback after another.”

Adam nodded in understanding, taking a sip of his drink. It was an excellent Irish whiskey, and far outside his normal price range. He had a feeling that being offered a glass was something of an honor to go along with the lesson he was being given.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it for you. As satisfying as it can be, directing is not an easy job because you’re responsible for absolutely everything,” Mr. Tillman warned. “You have to balance the needs of your cast and crew, the demands of the financial backers and the expectations of your audience. Sometimes each of those demands come into conflict and you’re left trying to figure out where to make some hard choices. You have to end up being the bad guy more often than you’d like.”

Adam recognized the truth in those words. He’d only just begun to dip his toe in working on the production side of professional theater, but he felt like he was getting a crash course in the less glamorous side of his profession. He’d had a very small taste in staging is final school project and had seen all the highs and lows during his summers with the festival and his tour. The actors certainly had it easier in a way, since they only needed to focus on their performances.

He considered the various directors he’d worked with over the years, trying to see things from their perspective. He’d seen actors fired and replaced, technical teams berated for mistakes but he hadn’t considered the other side of things. Of the long nights where a director would spend trying to make all the pieces of a puzzle fit together and the pressure that everything rode on making the right decisions. The burden was tremendous.

“What brings you back every season?” he questioned curiously. “You’ve done just about every play Shakespeare wrote.”

Mr. Tillman smiled knowingly. “Because I still enjoy it. And there’s always something to challenge myself with,” he advised. “Even with a play that I’ve staged several times, there’s always something new that I want to try, or a different perspective that I want to examine. Sometimes I think of them myself, or they can be shaped by the actors that I cast. There’s always a way to take something very familiar and put a different spin on things.

“Every director wants to put his own stamp on a show. And that becomes even more pronounced when you’re using material that’s been performed many times before,” Mt. Tillman confided. “You want to present familiar stories in a new and interesting way, but you can’t go so far over the ledge that you lose your audience. We always have to keep them in mind while we indulge our own flights of fancy.”

“Oh, such as the time when you did all the Henry plays in one season?” Adam asked with a little smile.

Mr. Tillman chuckled at the reminder of his one real failure with the festival. It was something of a legend and still talked about for the sheer audacity of the attempt, even though it crashed and burned.

“That was a very clear case of a young director’s ego getting away from him,” the director admitted with a wry smile. “Admittedly, trying to get the audience to accept so much heavy history in one season was a bit much. I learned a hard lesson after that mess, which is why we now try to have more balance for the festivals. We need our audience willing to go along with us, and they want to be challenged. But that runs the risk of them deciding that we’ve gone too far, or not far enough.”

The appeal of such a challenge was obvious, and Adam found himself wondering how he would handle such a task. It was one matter to stage a show that he’d written, as he had a clear vision of how he expected the story to play out. He was able to see that it was another matter entirely to stage someone else’s work.

He thought about the play that he’d spent months performing in, and how the director had wanted to honor the writer’s vision while still having his own perspective noted. As hard as it was to stage a show where the writer wasn’t in a position to be looking over his shoulder at every moment, he became very aware of the difficulties that could arise when the writer was there to stare over the director’s shoulder at every moment. Directing was a much bigger challenge than most would anticipate, he realized.

Adam was coming to the realization that directors, while they often hid in the shadows of a production, were even more vital to a show’s success than the actors who took most of the glory. And he could see the appeal of channeling his focus to that aspect of a production. Many actors never got to realize just how much the work of the director might shape their careers.

Mr. Tillman smiled and reached over to pat his shoulder. “Why don’t you head back to the motel,” he suggested. “I think that we’ve gotten as much as we can done today and we’re going to be very busy tomorrow.”

Adam nodded. “Sounds good,” he agreed. He tossed back the last of his whiskey and placed the glass down on Mr. Tillman’s desk. “I’ll just check things before I leave. Hopefully tomorrow there won’t be any serious problems tomorrow.”

“I’ll see you in the morning then. Go get some rest,” Mr. Tillman ordered with a smile.

Adam made his rounds, checking on the technical teams as they finished up their work for the evening. The major portion of the set was more or less completed and there were just the small details that would be added to complete the haunted forest air that they were aiming for. The costumers had made good progress on their tasks and the wounded seamstress had returned from the hospital; one finger heavily bandaged but still able to assist the other members of her team. Satisfied that things would not spontaneously combust in his absence, Adam returned to the motel room he was sharing with Kurt.

Kurt was reclining in bed, reviewing his script notes when Adam walked through the door, looking like he’d been dragged over several miles of rough road. “Bad day?” he asked sympathetically, clearly aware of the burden that his partner had to handle while Kurt had the luxury of a few days off.

Adam smiled, bending down to give Kurt a quick kiss. “It had its moments,” he admitted. “Were you waiting up for me?”

“I was out with the others for dinner and we just got back a little while ago,” Kurt insisted. “I just wanted to go over my notes before I went to bed. Waiting up with just a bonus.”

Adam couldn’t help feeling pleased that Kurt was awake to greet him. “I’m going to go wash up,” he informed the younger man.

Kurt kissed him again, nudging him towards the bathroom. “I’ll be here when you get back,” he promised.

Grabbing a pair of sleep pants, Adam headed to the bathroom where he took a good shower and washed his hair, getting the grime of the day off. After brushing his teeth, he headed back into the bedroom.

Kurt had placed his script aside and had the bed turned down. “Come on,” he urged, presenting a becoming image dressed in his own sleep pants and a welcoming smile on his face. “We can watch a bit of TV before we pass out.”

“I’m probably going to fall asleep straight away,” Adam admitted as he settled in next to Kurt. “I’ve got to be at the theater early tomorrow.”

Kurt let the other man pull him into his arms, Adam’s damp head resting against his shoulder. Kurt reached over to turn off the light and found one of their favorite movies playing on one of the cable channels. They’d both seen it so many times that he knew it wouldn’t keep them awake. Adam practically had the entire script committed to memory.

“Try to get some sleep.”

Adam heard Kurt’s gentle urging and felt the gentle rise and fall of his chest under his cheek. There were moments of perfect comfort, where no matter what was happening outside their door, he remained secure and safe. There were Kurt’s strong arms holding him, his firm body grounding him and one of the most beautifully written films playing softly on their television to lull him to sleep. He couldn’t ask for very much more.

“As you wish,” he said with a little smile, echoing the words that the film’s lead spoke to his beloved.

He was asleep before the first scene played out.

* * *

Adam left the hotel bright and early, carrying a cup of coffee in a go cup and munching on a blueberry muffin he’d gotten at the breakfast buffet. He had a long day ahead of him and warned Kurt that he likely wouldn’t be back until very late. The younger man just nodded, giving him a kiss goodbye before going back to sleep.

Mr. Tillman had beaten him to the theater, causing to Adam to wonder again if the older man kept a bedroll hidden away in his office since they never saw him come or go. After a quick meeting to go over the goals for the day, Adam set out to open the back door to let in the tech teams.

By the time they all broke for lunch the set was finished and Adam couldn’t resist taking a long moment looking at it from the theater seats. The design was quite remarkable, with Spanish moss and vines draped over the wooden branches and bunches of tall grass placed about the stage to give the impression of an ancient dense woodland. The manner in which the wooden trees had been painted gave a sense of depth and dimension, and the soft glow from the paint and lights furthered the supernatural feel. A backdrop of trees against a night sky finished the setting where fae folk would drift in and out of vision as if in a dream.

He was sitting with the crew, enjoying their break and the catered meal when the head of the electrical team hurried up to him. “Adam, the smoke machine is here,” he said happily, not hiding his sense of relief. “They need you to sign for it.”

“Oh, good,” Adam breathed in relief, glad that he’d managed to get through most of lunch before being called away. He took a last bite of his sandwich before tossing his plate into the trash. “Let’s go check it out.”

Once the effects equipment had been turned over to the technical team to set up, Adam headed to the costumer shop where the crew were making final adjustments to the outfits for the cast. While the costumes for the human characters were more or less traditional, the fairy costumes would certainly cause some gasps from the audience. Perhaps they should have put a parental warning on the poster…

By three o’clock, the tech teams were ready to do their run through and he joined Mr. Tillman in the seats to watch from the audience’s perspective. To everyone’s relief, it went off without a hitch. All of the lighting effects looked amazing, casting the forest in deep shadows while the leaves and flowers glowed softly. Adam smiled, picturing the fair folk flitting in and out of sight as they made mischief on the mortal characters. There was just enough of a nightmarish tilt to cause a sense of unease without verging into outright horror film territory.

The director leaned over as a light mist rolled across the stage, their newest acquisition working as expected. “What do you think about how the backlighting is working?” he proposed, clearly wanting Adam’s opinion. “Maybe we should raise them a bit?”

Adam considered the way shadows were falling from behind the trees and shook his head in disagreement. “No, I think that the softness of the lighting works fine,” he insisted. “I think that raising them will make the trees look fake.”

“Well, let’s try it and see how it looks,” Mr. Tillman proposed.

Adam nodded and spoke into his microphone, relaying the instructions to the lighting team. After a moment, the back spots increased in intensity. While the shadows deepened in an interesting manner, the illusion of dimension with the trees was lost.

“You were right,” Mr. Tillman granted with a good-natured smile.

“But we don’t lose anything by trying,” Adam insisted, pleased that his instincts were being proven correct. He thought that Mr. Tillman had been testing his eye and that he’d passed.

“Let’s meet after dinner,” Mr. Tillman proposed. “We’ll get the teams together, go over our notes and we’ll call it a night. The cast will be in tomorrow for the full run through before the dress rehearsal.”

“Sounds good,” Adam agreed.

The catering order from a local Italian restaurant arrived and the entire team gathered for a well needed break. It was comforting in a way to see all the crew forming the same kind of bonds that Adam would often see among the cast. Unlike the actors, who often would stay for just a few seasons before moving on in their careers, many on the technical teams returned year after year to work the festival. And as with the actors, the festival gave newer members of the team a chance to learn and grow into their professions. They would have the luxury of time, to develop their skills in a professional environment.

In a way, Adam envied them. They had such a clear view of what they wanted out of their careers. Adam had been so distracted at times, directing and writing taking his focus from his acting at times. Would he be further in his career if he’d been more direct in his attention, devoting himself to one area rather than wanting to do everything.

Kurt would swat him upside his head for such thoughts. Rationally, Adam knew that he’d come far in a relatively brief amount of time. He had his show staging in London and then in New York in the winter. And there was his own play that he was still working on that might very well be staged. He was just starting to find what awaited him professionally. He would find his path.

Once the lasagna and chicken parmigiana was devoured and the trash disposed of, the entire production team gathered in the theater to get the feedback from their director. Mr. Tillman seemed pleased as he stood before his team.

“I’ll try to make this quick,” he promised, offering the group a reassuring smile. “We do have things to go over and we’ll iron out the last hiccups tomorrow when we do the run-through with the actors. But right now, everything looks pretty good.”

Adam felt himself relax a bit at the pronouncement, glad that they’d handled the complications that had erupted during the past two days. Everyone had worked hard, proving themselves to be true professionals as they worked to make this as good a stage show as could be done. He was very proud to have been a part of all this.

There were instructions for each of them teams, and tasks that needed to be completed before they shut down for the night. Adam found himself at the theater long after everyone else had left, double checking to make sure that everything was prepared for the full run through in the morning. On stage, he reached up to grasp the branches that several characters would hang from or sit up, making sure that the prop trees were solid and the branches secure. Then he checked the sound system, wanting to ensure that the music was set to key up correctly with the play. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the teams to know what they were doing, but he felt that it was his responsibility to make sure that nothing could go wrong.

Adam finished his rounds by going to the dressing rooms, making sure that the costumes for each performer was in the right places. There were so many elements to keep track of since while revealing, the costumes for the fairy characters were very elaborate. He couldn’t lie, but he especially enjoyed how Kurt looked in his even though his boyfriend jokingly complained that he had bathing suits that offered more coverage.

Once satisfied that everything was set for the next day, Adam poked his head into Mr. Tillman’s office. He wasn’t surprised to see the director still there.

“I’m going to head out now,” he advised with a tired smile. “Everything is ready for tomorrow. I’ll be in before the cast arrives to help with the set up.”

Mr. Tillman nodded, clearly tired but pleased. “Sound good,” he said agreeably before looking Adam up and down, taking note of his obvious exhaustion. “Go get some sleep. I need you on your toes tomorrow.”

‘I will,” Adam promised. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Good night, Adam.”

Adam walked out of the theater with a feeling of great satisfaction coming over him. He hadn’t anticipated the work to be so demanding but he was happy that he had managed to be an genuine help to the director. He’d dreaded being given nothing but busy work and left to twiddle this thumbs all summer, but Mr. Tillman had recognized his capabilities and delegated both authority and responsibility for him to bear. He knew that his work was hardly over, as overseeing each performance would be another set of challenges to face.

But tonight, standing on the path and looking back at the quiet theater that would erupt to life again in the coming days, Adam knew that he had done his job well. He would go to the motel and spend the night in Kurt’s bed, taking comfort in his lover’s presence. They would support one another for the remainder of the season, each of them having the chance to grow as professionals.

But now… now was the chance to rest. There would be work enough in the morning.


	3. Act Three - Kurt

It didn’t matter that Kurt had already played this role several times already. The moment before he took the stage and spoke his first lines always managed to give him a sense of anticipation. When he would shed the last layer of his own skin and take on that of his character. Each stage of the process, from costume to makeup, were tools to help him and give the audience something interesting to look at. But he’d learned a hard lesson in his classes that he should be able to give a performance strong enough to make the audience see the character and not himself while wearing nothing but his socks.

Not that he was wearing much more, he mused as he walked in his bare feet to the stage area to wait for his cue. The costumers had gone with an elemental, primeval theme for the fairy characters and let their flights of fancy really fly. In his tiny, tiny scrap of a costume, Kurt had to be careful to get it sitting just right. Otherwise he’d be giving the audience a lot more of a show than they had planned on. He had to give the costumers credit for inventiveness in having him covered just enough to avoid indecency and have it look well thought and cohesive, but it took a lot of courage to step out on the stage in what looked like a glorified G-string.

Kurt was glad that months of dance and stage combat classes had honed his body so that there wasn’t an ounce of baby fat left on him. He’d already been proud of his lean, muscular form but he didn’t think that he’d have the courage to wear such a revealing costume if he didn’t know that he looked good and would be getting knowing that he looked good and getting admiring stares from his audience. If he had even a trace of a beer belly, he didn’t think he’d be nearly so confident.

Adam certainly appreciated the costume, offering teasing smiles and coy winks as Kurt passed by. And with the sheer stretch fabric that covered him from waist to the tops of his thighs, Kurt actually was a bit more covered than the audience might think. But the nearly transparent material would be invisible from the audience. Body paint and his headdress of feathers and horns completed the illusion, transforming him into the otherworldly trickster.

Opening night had been a thrill, especially when he got to perform a role that he’d always loved. And getting to perform alongside some of his best friends while knowing that his family was in the audience? There was nothing better. As they had last summer, his father and Carole stayed for a long weekend to in order to see both shows. They’d come with Finn and Puck, who’d been very insistent on seeing Kurt playing the character with his name. He didn’t think that anything could have made that night more satisfying.

Well, except maybe if Adam were performing Oberon, he thought. That would have been perfect, but he and Ben got along so well, and they had great stage chemistry that positively crackled on the stage. As much fun as they had playing ancient Greek lovers, Kurt really enjoyed playing with the dynamic they had as a fairy king and his mischievous henchman. As someone told him, you can’t spell subtext without s-e-x and they’d enjoyed seeing just how far they could push things, leaving the audience gasping in shock.

Kurt had watched the first scenes from the wings, wearing a robe over his shoulders to keep from being chilled and waiting for his time to take his mark. Handing off his robe to one of the stagehands, Kurt slipped behind the set to find the rungs that had been built into one of the trees that allowed him climb up to the perch built for him. He found the seat that had been built for him behind the tree branch that would allow him to lay back against the trunk and look like he’d been lounging there without a care in the world. In the dark, he carefully settled in, draping one bare leg to hang off the branch, the other tucked up against his chest making him look completely at ease. He was secure on his perch as the final scene of the first act played out, leaving him hidden away in the darkness.

He listened as the human characters set the storyline, showing the romantic conflicts between the four morals as they fled into the mystical forest and the motley crew of actors that would provide much of the comedic elements. When lights hit the moon gilded in reflective paint on the backdrop and the forest was set aglow with soft lights, Kurt gave a long stretch, drawing the audience’s attention to him and he thought he heard of few gasps of surprise.

A young woman dressed in what looked like nothing more than a few artfully placed flowers and leaves over her slender form stepped out onto the stage, her long flaxen hair providing more coverage than her actual costume. Kurt gave a loud whistle to get her attention.

“ _How now, spirit_!” he called, swinging down from his seat and hanging from his arms. “ _Whither wander you_?”

The young woman playing the fairy looked up at him and offered a mischievous smile. “ _Over hill, over dale…Through brush, through brier. Over park, over pale… Through flood, through fire… I do wander everywhere._ ”

Kurt dropped to the ground, letting the audience get a full look at his nearly bare body. He walked up to her and reached out to run his hand through her hair, trying to pull her close. She laughed and flitted just out of reach.

“ _Swifter than the moon’s sphere_ ,” she pronounced with a coy look. “ _And I do serve the fairy queen. To dew her orbs upon the green. The cowslips tall her pensioners be. In their gold coats, spots you see._

 _“There be rubies, fairy favours,_ ” she announced, letting Kurt slip up behind her, running his hands over her body and press his nose into the hollow of her throat. “ _In those freckles live their savours. I must go seek some dewdrops here. And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear._ ”

She turned to kiss Kurt, her hands boldly grasping his hips. “ _Farewell, thou lob of spirits. I’ll be gone. Our queen and all our elves come here anon._ ”

Kurt spun and jumped to grasp his branch again, swinging freely as he looked down at the other fairly. “ _The king doth keep his revels here tonight,_ ” he warned. “ _Take heed, the queen come not within his sight. For Oberon is passing fell and wrath. Because she as her attendant hath a lovely boy, stolen from an Indian king._ ”

He looked up at the painted moon, letting a malicious grin come onto his face as if delighted with the conflict that was to come. “ _She never had so sweet a changeling_ ,” Kurt proclaimed. “ _And jealous Oberon would have the child. Knight to train, to trace the forests wild. But she perforce withholds the loved boy._

“ _Crowns him with flowers_ ,” he spat, as if with disgust at the folly of a human being held in sigh high regard by one of the Fair Folk. “ _And makes him all her joy. And now they never meet in grow or green. By fountain clear or spangled starlight sheen. But they do square, and all their elves for fear creep into acorn cups and hide them there._ ”

The fairy girl looked at him in surprise. “ _Either I mistake your shape and making quite, or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite,_ ” she said in recognition. “ _Call’d Robin Goodfellow, are not you he? That frights the maidens of the villagey? Skim milk, and somethings labour in the quern. And bootless makes breathless housewife churns, and sometime make the drink to bear no barm._ ”

Kurt hoisted himself to flip over the branch before landing on the stage again, grinning with pleasure at being so well known. The fairy eyed him warily, lust replace with caution now that she knew where his allegiances lay.

“ _Mislead night wanderers, laughing at their harm?_ ” she accused, not hiding her disgust. “ _Those that Hobgoblin call you, and sweet Puck. You do their work, and they shall have good luck. Are you not he?_ ”

Kurt gave an elaborate bow, smiling wickedly. “ _Thou speak’st aright. I am that merry wanderer of the night,_ ” he confirmed proudly, completely unashamed at his admittedly wicked reputation. “ _I jest to Oberon and make him smile. When I a fat and bean fed horse beguile, neighing in likeness of a filly foal._ ”

“ _And sometimes lurk I in a gossip’s bowl,_ ” he confided boldly, stalking about the young fairy like a cat that had found a bird on the ground. “ _In the very likeness of a roasted crab. And when she drinks, against her lips I bob. And on her wither’d dewlap pour the ale._ ”

He laughed at her look of disgust on her pretty face, delighting in how he’d tormented mortals in the past. “ _The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale. Sometimes for three-foot stool mistaketh me,_ ” he confided with a teasing grin. “ _Then slip I from her bum, down topples she!_

“ _And ‘tailor’ cries, and falls into a cough. And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh. And waxen in their mirth and neeze and swear. A merrier hour was never wasted there!_ ”

Music began the play louder, the sound of pipes and drums as if a procession were approaching. Kurt cocked his head, nodding in recognition. “ _But, room, fairy_ ,” he warned. “ _Here comes Oberon._ ”

The fairy smiled as she heard the strains of flute coming from the opposite direction. “ _And here is my mistress_ ,” she pronounced haughtily, as if the news would send him fleeing. “ _Would that he were gone!_ ”

Kurt hurried back to his perch, watching from above as the two otherworldly forces met, Oberon’s folk dressed in leaves and leather worked to look like tree bark, while Titania’s followers were in vines and flowers. The confrontation between the King and Queen of the fair folk was fiery, their conflict bitter over the dark-skinned teenager that stood at Titania’s side, gazing at her adoringly.

The rest of the performance ran as expected. The audience laughed in all the right places, the special effects went off without a hitch and Kurt’s final monologue earned him a roar of applause as a standing ovation with the rest of the cast. There were several curtain calls before the cast was able to retreat to their dressing rooms to begin the arduous process of shedding their characters and returning to their normal selves.

Even given how little actual costume he was wearing, putting Puck away for the night was still a rather involved process. He carefully unpinned the headdress and placed it on the wig stand at his dressing table to keep the feathers from getting damaged. Then he stripped off the wig cap, giving his scalp a good scratch and unflattening his hair.

He slipped on his robe before sliding his costume down over his legs and hanging it up carefully so that he didn’t snag the sheer fabric that made up the majority of the bathing-suit sized garment. Unfortunately, despite how careful he’d been, it was next to impossible to get undressed without getting some paint on the loincloth but the costumer team had gotten very good at making sure that his outfit was clean and ready for the next show.

Sitting down at the dressing table, Kurt looked into the mirror at was again struck at just how the mask of intricately smudged black paint emphasized the color of his eyes. He’d been dubious about the idea when the costume designers expressed their impression for his character, worrying that he was going to look like a slightly demented, naked raccoon. Kurt had to admit that they were right… he looked pretty bad ass and the paint gave him a slightly menacing, wraithlike appearance. It would take him longer to get the makeup off than it would for the most elaborate costume.

And the glitter… so much fucking glitter…

“Son of a bitch!”

Kurt looked up at the source of the exclamation and wasn’t surprised to see that it had come from Ben, who seemed to have some difficulty getting his pants off. “You okay?” he asked.

Ben grimaced as he wrestled with his laces. “It’d be a lot easier if the costumers weren’t so fucking creative this year,” he complained.

Kurt understood where his castmate was coming from as he’d wrestled with complex fasteners on garments many times in the past. He’d learned the hard way to always allow extra time as he adjusted laces, buttons and buckles so that his garments would lay absolutely perfectly and then to get out of them later.

He couldn’t blame Ben for his frustration. The leather pants were indeed fabulous, textured and painted to look like the garment had been crafted from tree bark and covered with embroidered detailing that looked like leaves, they required careful adjusting so that just enough bare skin would show through the lacings at his hips and legs.

He patted his friend on the shoulder. “Let me help,” he offered. “Hold that part in place while I work on the laces.”

The costumers had been clever with creating a flap that would cover all important anatomy while the laces that held everything together left a titillating line of skin that followed the line of his abdominal muscles on both sides, but that precluded Ben wearing any kind of underwear. The intricate lacing that kept the costume from falling apart on stage and giving the audience more of a show than they expected but Ben had managed to get them totally snarled. Ben carefully held the modesty piece while Kurt worked on trying to sort out the mess he’d made of the laces.

It took a few minutes of picking out the tangle, but Kurt was something of a master at undoing knots. He pulled the laces free and looked up at his friend with a triumphant grin.

“There you go,” he proclaimed, patting Ben’s hip laughing at his heartfelt sigh of relief.

“Thanks,” the older man said sincerely. “I was starting to worry that I was going to end up wearing them for the rest of the run. And that would start getting pretty rancid after the first few days.” He held out his hand to Kurt.

Kurt accepted Ben’s assistance and got to his feet. “I’m going to try to get this crap off of me,” he advised, knowing that it was going to be futile until he got back to the motel for a shower. The dark paint stained his skin and his bare feet were beyond filthy. There wasn’t enough makeup remover in the world to help him.

After a half hour of careful scrubbing, Kurt had gotten enough of the paint off to get his clothes on. He’d already learned the hard way to reserve two outfits strictly for leaving the theater since they’d likely be ruined by the end of the show’s run. He took his time at the stage door to greet the fans that waited for him, signing autographs and accepting compliments before finding his friends who’d come to see that evening’s performance.

His smile brightened when he recognized a young girl waiting in the line, waiting for her chance to meet the cast. She had been looking about and her smile widened when she caught sight of him, a soft blush coloring her cheeks.

“Hi Kelly,” Kurt greeted, wanting to give a little special attention to his first real fan. “How did you like the show?”

“It was amazing!” she exclaimed, handing over her program for him to sign while her aunt watched amusedly. “I loved it! Everything was so fantastic.”

Kurt was genuinely glad that she did, even if the production was a bit less PG rated than others that she’d come to see.

“She wouldn’t leave until you came out. She liked the costumes,” her aunt inserted teasingly, seeming to enjoy having a bit of fun at her niece’s expense. Apparently, Kelly’s crush on Kurt hadn’t softened at all.

“Well, I’m honored,” Kurt insisted. And he was. He remembered how he’d felt at Kelly’s age when it came to the figures that he was infatuated with. If he’d had the opportunity to meet them in person, wild horses couldn’t drag him away.

“And I joined a theater group,” Kelly advised, her flush deepening a bit. “They’re teaching us a lot about acting. We’re doing a play in the fall.”

Kurt’s grin widened. “That’s fantastic! Are interested in being an actress?”

“I don’t know,” Kelly admitted. “I love the shows and it’s a lot of fun, but I also want to be a veterinarian.”

Kurt laughed, thinking that there was a pretty wide gulf between the two professions. “Well, if you’re really interested in acting you should talk to my friends Rachel and Tina. They’re in the cast and some of the most talented people I know. Rachel goes to NYADA with me and Tina is in the theater program at NYU.”

“Thanks,” Kelly said. “I really did enjoy the show. You were incredible.”

“Are you going to be back next summer?” Kelly’s aunt asked. “Because she’ll be awfully disappointed if you’re not.”

Kurt nodded. “I definitely plan to,” he assured her. “You have a good year at school. And I’ll want to hear about your theater group next year.”

Elliot, Dani and Santana were waiting at the end of the stage line with Rachel and Tina and cheered when he came into view. “Here’s our superstar!” Elliot proclaimed, opening his arms and sweeping the shorter man into a celebratory embrace.

“I take it you enjoyed the show,” Kurt appraised, accepting the hug from Elliot and a kiss from Dani.

She nodded approvingly. “It was pretty amazing,” she assured him. “Admittedly, we did spend a lot of time waiting for a wardrobe malfunction. There’s not a whole lot to those costumes.”

“Seriously,” Rachel complained playfully. “All you see with mine is side-boob. And my ass hanging out.”

Kurt couldn’t help from laughing since Rachel’s costume consisted of a sheer body stocking decorated with a few flowers covering everything important. And like him, she seemed to have been assaulted by the Glitter Monster, with her long hair still shimmering despite having tried to brush it out.

“I’m sure that Neil is going to absolutely hate that when he sees the show tomorrow,” Kurt teased. He knew that Rachel was looking forward to seeing her boyfriend for the first time in a couple of weeks.

Elliot’s brilliant blue eyes were positively sparkling with mischief. “I’m not going to lie,” he admitted without an iota of shame. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing the show ever since you told me that you’d all be almost naked on stage.”

Santana smirked. “Well, you don’t see me complaining because the actress playing Titania…” She made a low growl of approval.

Dani chuckled and nudged her girlfriend, giving her a reminder of where her admiring gaze should be focused.

“So, where are your dads?” Santana asked Rachel, looking about. “I thought for sure that they’d still be haunting the theater.”

“They went back to Lima. Finally,” the other girl answered with a clear air of relief. “I think they were getting bored with me being in an ensemble role this time. And seeing me half naked probably scarred them for life.”

“That kind of sucks,” Dani commented, offended on behalf of her friend.

Rachel just smiled. “Believe me, I’m happy to have a break from them,” she assured the other girl. “I was glad to see them, but it’s nice to be able to perform for a more objective audience. And to have some actual free time to myself without needing to entertain them every night.”

“Well, since you’re all done for the night, we thought we’d take you guys out for dessert before we catch our train,” Elliot offered.

Kurt nodded with a tired but happy smile. “That sounds great,” he said approvingly. A cup of coffee and a chance to see his friends for more than a few fleeting moments was just what he needed. And Adam should be done for the day by the time he got back to the motel.

Elliot grinned brightly, gathering Kurt under one arm and Rachel under the other while the other girls followed them down the path. “So, I want to hear all the stories,” he demanded playfully. “You can’t tell me that there weren’t some serious costume problems during rehearsals.”

Rachel rolled her eyes dramatically. “Well, let’s just put it this way,” she commented. “I’ve seen a lot more of Kurt than I ever wanted to. And I now know why Adam is always so cheerful.”

Kurt shrugged, having long since gotten over his embarrassment on that particular incident. “I had to learn the right way to tuck,” he explained. “Not my fault that the costumers didn’t take that particular measurement into consideration.”

Elliot howled with laughter, turning his head to press a kiss to the top of Kurt’s. “It’s very unfair that none of us were around to see that,” he complained.

“That’s half the fun for the audience,” Kurt theorized. “They’re showing up with the hopes of something slipping.”

“I think that’s why this is one of the best selling shows the festival has seen,” Rachel insisted. “Nothing like a bunch of nearly naked actors to get an audience.”

By the time Kurt arrived back at the motel, Adam already there and had showered and dressed for bed. The older man looked a bit tired after what had been a long day for him but smiled happily at seeing Kurt and welcomed his lover with a hug and a kiss.

“Did you have fun?” he asked. “How is old T.S.?”

Kurt couldn’t help from grinning at the nickname that Adam had dubbed the other man. “He and Dani are fine,” he assured Adam. “They enjoyed the show a lot. Elliot and Santana had a lot to say about the costumes.”

Adam chuckled tiredly. “I’m sure that they did. And I don’t blame them, because you looked amazing.”

He kissed Kurt again. “Why don’t you hop into the shower? I’ll be here when you get out,” he promised, ruffling Kurt’s messy hair.

A hot shower did wonders to refresh Kurt, and he managed to get off the last of the stage paint staining his skin. The glitter, on the other hand, was far more persistent. No matter how carefully he cleaned, the damned sparkles just ended up everywhere. It was in his hair, on his clothes… He was finding glitter in places where it had no business being and Kurt suspected that he’d be discovering stray glitter weeks after the show closed.

Well, that was a small price to pay for what was turning out to be a smashing theatrical run. The reviews had been good and ticket sales strong. A few NYADA faculty had been in the audience during the run of the festival and Kurt knew that all of this would reflect very well on both him and Rachel. Many of their friends who’d stayed in the area for the summer had managed to come see them perform at least once, and there was a mention about their participation on the NYADA website that listed the performance work done by students over the summer break.

If one downside was that he didn’t have nearly as much time to spend with Adam as he’d hoped except at night, and both of them were exhausted by then. Kurt didn’t think that Adam had anticipated just how much Mr. Tillman would end up depending on Adam and the amount of responsibility that he was assigned. It was yet another price that they had to pay for moving their careers forward.

Settling into bed next to his lover, even if they were too tired except to exchange a kiss or two before going to sleep. It wouldn’t be long before they got to return to what passed as a normal life for them, and Kurt knew that all of this was going to be worth it in the end.

* * *

Morning found Kurt and Adam savoring a few moments together before Adam had to head to the theater. Like everyone else on the production team, the Englishman’s hours were much longer than Kurt’s and he was literally on call round the clock. Kurt had seen too often how Adam’s rare downtime was interrupted by emergencies that required his attention.

This morning was a few moments of calm for them. Kurt had gone down to the hotel breakfast buffet and returned with coffee and pastries for them to share. Lounging in bed and watching the news together, sipping on coffee and nibbling on danish and muffins was a pretty perfect morning in Kurt’s opinion. Capturing these quiet moments amid a cycle of constant demands and pressure seemed to make them all the more special.

“I really do need to get going, love,” Adam said regretfully.

Kurt leaned over to kiss him, knowing that Adam was facing another long day. He wondered if his lover had really anticipated just how demanding his job would be, but he knew that Adam was relishing the experience he was gaining. If he ever had the opportunity to direct, the knowledge that he was gaining would be invaluable.

“I’ll see you at the theater,” Kurt promised, kissing him again. “Try not to burn it down before we get there.”

Adam chuckled at Kurt’s impish teasing and flicked his finger against the tip of the younger mans nose. “Don’t be late,” he warned half-seriously. “I should hate to have to punish you if you are.”

“Ohh… punishment sounds like fun.”

“Imp,” Adam admonished playfully. “I think that your character is rubbing off on you a bit too much.”

Kurt couldn’t resist pouting. “No fair talking about rubbing off when you’re leaving,” he complained. Admittedly their sex life had taken a backseat to their work since the show opened.

Adam smiled and leaned over to kiss him one last time. “I’ll make it up to you,” he promised, playfully nipping at Kurt’s lip. “See you later.”

“Love you,” Kurt called out as Adam got his things and headed for the door.

The Englishman turned a warm smile to the young man still lounging in bed. “I love you too, darling. See you at the theater.”

Once left alone, Kurt knew that he would have a few hours for himself before he needed to be at the theater. Kurt was fairly content to relax and laze the morning away, channel surfing and answering some emails from friends. With all the work of playing two demanding roles that season, a relaxing morning was exactly what he needed to recharge his batteries.

At a little before eleven o’clock, there was a knock at his door and Kurt immediately recognized Rachel’s four-beat cadence. With a smile, he climbed out of bed and opened the door, finding both Rachel and Tina standing there.

“I cannot believe that you’re still in your pajamas,” Rachel criticized lightly, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Lazy boy.”

“Just taking advantage of a quiet morning. We’ve got two shows to get through today,” he explained, letting both the girls into his room. If either of them had any comment to make about the still-disheveled bed, they kept it to themselves.

Tina smoothed out the bedspread so that she could sit down. “We didn’t see you at breakfast,” she said with a bit of teasing reproach in her tone.

Kurt shrugged, sitting down in one of the chairs by the window. “I wanted to spend some time with Adam before he had to get to the theater,” he said without a trace of shame. “We really haven’t had a lot of time to spend together this summer.”

“We noticed,” Rachel assured him with a gentle smile. “I know that it’s not easy working with someone and barely able to enjoy being around him.”

Kurt nodded, refusing to feel sorry for himself. “After the past year, I’m just glad to be sleeping in the same bed,” he insisted. “I know that we can’t always be in one another’s back pockets. Especially with both of us working.”

Tina nodded understandingly. “I know how you feel,” she claimed. “Artie is busy with projects so I haven’t been able to see much of him either.”

“And Neil is working so today is the first I’m going to see of him since we started,” Rachel stated. “It’s hard but we’re all in this together.”

Kurt was grateful to have two of his closest friends working with him over the summer. While he got along well with everyone in the cast and had made some good friends there, the bond he had with Rachel and Tina was a special one. They knew him better than most and having them in the show made what was already an enjoyable job even more gratifying

“Well, why don’t you get dressed,” Tina advised. “We’re going to meet some of the others in the cast for lunch before we head to the theater.”

Kurt perked up at the invitation. “I’ll meet you down in the lobby in about half an hour,” he said, mentally calculating how long it would take him to get ready. “I just want a quick shower.”

* * *

Kurt emerged from the shadows as the rest of the characters left the stage, lovers secure in their relationships and the schism between Oberon and his Queen mended. He looked about, as if taking in the air of tranquility after so much confusion and strife. He curled his lip in disgust at everything being so peaceful despite his manipulations. Giving a sigh of resignation that his games were over for now, Kurt turned to the audience and offered a brilliant, albeit mischievous smile at seeing them watching.

He stepped forward, standing just inside the footlights so that they could see him clearly as he broke the fourth wall and addressed them directly.

“ _If we shadows have offended,_ ” he said, giving a half apology that lacked sincerity as his character had genuinely enjoyed twisting everyone about. “ _Think but this, and all is mended._

“ _That you had but slumber’d here_ , _while these visions did appear,_ ” he assured them, as if in an effort to soothe any feathers that Puck might have ruffled. His allowed himself to slip into the mannerisms of a playful youth whose games had gotten a little out of hand but who knew that he’d get away with it in the end.

He held out his arms, explaining away all the chaos that he’d woven over the course of the play. “ _And this weak and idle theme… no more yielding than a dream_ ,” he insisted. Manipulating the audience as he did every other character, he knew that he had them where he wanted them.

“ _Gentles, do not reprehend,_ ” he pleaded impishly, going through the motions when he knew that he hardly needed to beg. The audience was primed to follow wherever he chose to lead them. It was a heady feeling, to know that he could do anything and they would accept it.

His grin widened, showing a bit of the edge that always lurked behind his gaze. “ _If you pardon, we will mend._

“ _And, as I am an honest Puck.”_ Kurt held out his arms, displaying his nearly totally bare body and giving a little half bow. “ _If we have unearned luck. Now to ‘scape the serpent’s tongue. We will make amends ere long, Else the Puck a liar call._ ”

Kurt looked from one end of the theater to the other, feeling the anticipation of the crowd for the final lines that would draw the play to a close like a coiled spring. They were just waiting for him to squeeze the trigger, and allow the applause that they were all but itching to give.

“ _So, good night unto you all,_ ” he bid, his eyes twinkling from behind his painted mask. “ _Give me your hands, if we be friends. And Robin shall restore amends._ ”

He gave a bow to the audience, bending deep at the waist and the roar of applause washed over him like a tidal wave. By the time he’d straighten up, many in the theater were on their feet, clapping and cheering for him.

Kurt stepped back and with a flourishing gesture welcomed the rest of the cast to the stage to accept the regards of their audience. The applause grew louder as everyone had their moment to take their bows. Before the curtain came down a final time, Kurt stepped forward for one last bow before he was hidden away by the drape of velvet.

He felt Puck leave his body with a rush that almost left him shaking. Two performances in a day were a lot to get through, especially playing a character that seemed to want to dominate the performer. If Kurt were a less rationally-minded sort, he would think that the spirit of the character was running the show rather than just him managing to tap something really interesting within that gave his version of Puck a multifaceted complexity that would repel as much as appeal.

Adam was standing in the wings with a pleased expression on his face as the cast filed by on their way to the dressing rooms. Oddly, he held Kurt’s robe in his arms and waited for him.

“Good show, love,” he complimented. “But before you go change, there’s someone waiting to meet you in Mr. Tillman’s office.”

Kurt’s eyebrow arched in curiosity. They rarely had visitors backstage on performance nights. “Who is it?” he asked cautiously, not quite sure what to make of it.

Adam just drapped the robe over Kurt’s shoulders and nudged him in the right direction. “Don’t keep them waiting,” he advised. “I’ll let the others know that you’ll be a few minutes.”

Now very curious, Kurt walked toward the office as he pulled his arms through the sleeves of his robe and tied the belt so that he was more or less covered. Mr. Tillman’s office door was closed and Kurt paused a second before knocking.

Mr. Tillman opened the door, smiling when he saw Kurt’s arrival. “Come on in, Kurt,” he urged, holding the door aside so the younger man could walk in. The director turned to the visitor and gave a brief nod. “It was good speaking with you, Madam. Thank you for coming to the show this evening.”

Shocked at who was sitting there, Kurt waited until they were alone before saying anything. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” he said carefully, not wanting to offend his teacher.

Madam Tibideaux just smiled, looking astonishingly relaxed despite being dressed in a lovely yellow caftan and matching turban. The bright color suited her complexion, but Kurt wondered how he’d missed spotting her in the audience because she would have stood out.

“Well, I do love Shakespeare and Midsummer is one of my favorite plays,” she explained with an amused glint in her dark eyes. “I’m sorry for surprising you but I thought that you didn’t need to worry about impressing me if you knew that I was planning to attend.”

Kurt nodded, grateful for that consideration. His teacher might be hard to please, but she wasn’t cruel and didn’t believe in setting her students up for failure. Allowing him to perform the way he needed to without feeling like he was being graded was very considerate on her part.

“Did you see both plays?” he asked, hoping that she had a chance to. As much as he loved playing Puck, he was quite proud of the work he’d done in the other play.

She shook her head regretfully. “I’m afraid not,” she said. “I was hoping to be able to catch both shows this season, but unfortunately I needed to be out of the country while you were performing Troilus and Cresseda. Which is a pity, because I understand it was quite good.”

Kurt couldn’t help from nodding and smiling proudly. “Not to brag, but it was,” he assured her.

“Although this…” Madam Tibideaux gestured at his elaborate makeup and barely-there costume with a bemused smile. “That made quite an impression.

“And I have to compliment you on your performance. That was a very interesting and original take on the character. I’m very pleased that you took your lessons to heart about making a character your own. It would have been very easy to play the part the way most in the audience was probably expecting, although that would have been lessened the impact.””

“Thank you,” Kurt said sincerely, sitting down carefully and making sure that his robe was keeping him covered. He knew that her moments of unvarnished praise were always to be appreciated. “I had a very clear idea of how I wanted to play Puck from the time I auditioned. I really did want to put a different spin on him than they usually see.”

She smiled and nodded approvingly. “It was a very compelling performance,” she stated. “I really am sorry that I wasn’t able to see the other play because I understand that you and Ms. Berry were quite excellent. I would have liked to have seen that.”

“She really was,” Kurt assured her. “And I know that Rachel will be sorry that you didn’t have a chance to see her play Cassandra because she was a total scene stealer.”

“I’ll make sure that I see her before I leave,” Madam Tibideaux promised. “I won’t keep you too long because I’m sure that you want to go get cleaned up. I remember what it’s like to scrape off layers of stage paint after a show.

“But how are you enjoying your first real steps as a professional actor?” she asked. “Now that you’ve got a few seasons under your belt.”

Kurt considered the question carefully. “It’s everything I ever hoped for,” he answered honestly. “I love the work. Everything… the rehearsals and revising everything over and over. I can’t wait to get to the theater every day and I’m always trying to figure out to make my performance better.”

He met her steady gaze with one that was just as determined. “Every time I get on that stage… on any stage… it just reinforces that this is what I need to do with my life,” Kurt stated confidently.

His teacher nodded approvingly, pleased with his display of sureness. “There are very few things that I find as satisfying as being on stage myself,” she advised. “One of those is to see a student that I have so much respect for coming into his own. Between the musical this past spring and now this… you are starting to really discover just how much you are capable of. I saw it, but I think you’re finally starting to see it too.”

Kurt smiled, grateful for her regard. “Thank you, Madam.”

“And just so you know… now that I see just how much you are truly capable of, I will show no mercy this fall,” she warned. “You are proving to me at every turn that we’ve just started scratching the surface of how much you can achieve as a performer. I will not settle for anything less than your absolute best.”

He couldn’t help from laughing at her pronouncement. She’d already warned him that she would be even more demanding once classes started, but he had a feeling that he was in for another whole world of hurt. “I don’t know if I should be honored or terrified,” he questioned, earning a low chuckle from his teacher.

“If you haven’t been doing the studies that I suggested over the summer, you know the answer,” she warned with a good-natured smile before getting to her feet.

“Well, I won’t keep you any longer. You need to clean up and there are probably quite a few people waiting by the stage door,” she reminded. “I’ll go give Ms. Berry my regards before I leave.”

Kurt nodded, more than ready to put Puck away for the night. “Thank you for coming, Madam,” he said sincerely. “I’m glad that you enjoyed the show.”

She nodded with a contented smile on her face. “Good luck for the rest of the season,” she urged. “I’ll see you in a few weeks.”

When he reached his dressing room table, the actors sharing the room with him were already well into their clean up for the evening. Ben looked up at his entry with a curious expression.

“What kept you?” he asked as he wiped at his face to remove the layer of grease paint.

Kurt just smiled as he removed his headdress. “Just a well wisher that came to see me,” he answered.

As he left the theater for the night, having greeted his fans and signed what felt like a hundred autographs, Kurt started the walk back to the motel. He reached the top of the hill and couldn’t resist turning back to look at the theater. The marquee lights were still on, giving the theater a lively, enticing glow. It hinted at the life and magic that existed only on its stage. A magic that he had a direct hand in creating.

Kurt knew that his future was not a certain one. He knew that he’d just barely begun to face the challenges awaiting him. He had two more years of school and then he’d be joining Adam full time in the professional world. But his reward would be standing on the stage boards, the lights shining on him as he did what he was born to do.

In the meantime, he needed to clean up and get some sleep. He had performances for the next day to focus on. That was enough for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the hardest thing I've ever had to write. My mother had always been my first and best cheerleader when it came to my writing. She encouraged me, advised me, and loved to read whatever I wrote. She came to see me at poetry readings and bragged to everyone when something I wrote was well received. I would not be the writer that I am if it weren't for her support.
> 
> Mom passed away on January 4th. Her health had been in steady decline since her diagnosis and despite treatment, the infection in her liver brought on by her cancer never resolved. She went septic several times and during her final hospitalization we were told that she was in full liver failure and there was nothing more that could be done for her medically. My dad and I brought her home to take care of her and she passed away peacefully, surrounded by love.
> 
> I wanted to thank all of my readers for all their kind words, thoughts and prayers over the past few months. It meant a great deal to me and my family. I'm not over losing Mom and I don't think I ever will be, and it took me a long time to be able to start thinking about writing again. It felt like something frivolous, but I knew that Mom would want me to continue doing so. This story, everything that I've written in the past and everything that I will write in the future is dedicated to my mother.


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